Cascadia today: WA fails to meet emission targets + playground are bad for salmon + celebrate Asian heritage in May

WA falls short of emissions targets

The headline on this story at KUOW gets it wrong: Washington did have a decline in carbon emissions in its latest report from the Dept. of Ecology, but it was one half of one percent. Which means Washington is failing on the path to its emissions targets for 2030, which will require 5-7% declines. I dunno, maybe the has something to do with the fact that Washington was dead last among 50 US states in development of new renewable energy? Or maybe it's our that our car-addled brains believe light rail stations need to be paired with free parking. Or that governor Ferguson is more committed to spending billions on freeways rather than transit. Or maybe because Seattle's cruise industry is a climate disaster:

Cruise ships are disaster for the climate and Cascadia

Cruise ship trips out of Seattle are more popular than ever. According to the Port of Seattle, Seattle’s 2025 cruise season set new records, with 950,000 passengers, 289 sailings, and 67 percent of ships using electric plug-in power while they were docked in Seattle. The Port says these cruises

Cascadia JournalAndrew Engelson

BC quietly moves to export more raw logs

The Tyee reports that the BC's forestry ministry quietly changed restrictions on timber exports to allow more raw logs to be shipped overseas. Fees on hemlock, balsam and spruce will be reduced – no doubt resulting in fewer mill jobs and more profits for timber companies. Looks like this summer might see a revival of tree sits and monkey-wrenching in Cascadia: in Oregon the BLM is hoping to ramp up logging and pull out a billion board feet of timber – and the new proposed head of the federal BLM, Steve Pearce, is a notorious proponent of granting destructive mining and logging rights to corporations.

Seattle police chief questions diversion programs

PubliCola reports that Seattle police chief Shon Barnes is questioning the efficacy of the city's LEAD program which diverts some non-violent drug offenders to solutions that don't involve arrest and incarceration. In previous reporting I've done for PubiCola, evidence shows that you can't arrest your way out of the overdose crisis. At the Tyee, physician Ryan Herriot reflects on years working to address British Columbia's overdose crisis, and the constant battle to required to keep attention focused on evidence-based solutions that save lives.

Artificial turf is bad for Cascadia's salmon

OPB looks at a ubiquitous part of playgrounds and sports fields in the Pacific Northwest: cushy artificial turf made from recycled automobile tires. Unfortunately, a new study by British Columbia researchers found that tires (and these fields that recycle them) are extremely toxic for Cascadia's salmon because of a substance known as 6PPD-quinone.

Celebrate Asian heritage in May across Cascadia

The Georgia Straight looks at ahmm, a four-week set of dance, puppetry, drag, and other performances at the Morrow in Vancouver in celebration of Asian heritage month. At Seattle Center, on Saturday May 2, from 11 am - 5 pm there's a full day of free dance and performances celebrating Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. In Portland, the Lan Su Chinese Garden has full schedule of events throughout May celebrating AANHPI heritage.

Thanks for reading! -Andy